Submissions

Online Submissions

The Journal of Participatory Medicine is published by JMIR Publications. Users must be registered and logged in as authors in order to submit items online and to check the status of current submissions. Please refer to the Author Guidelines and Submission Checklist before submitting an article.

Author Guidelines

The Journal of Participatory Medicine is a peer-reviewed, open access journal with the mission to advance the understanding and practice of participatory medicine among health care professionals and patients. Please refer to the Parameters of Participatory Medicine for a detailed description of the context in which articles should fit.

Important: Since September 2017, JoPM is now published by JMIR Publications. Please submit at http://jopm.jmir.org/. JoPM articles are now professionally copyedited and XML-tagged ready for deposit in Pubmed Central / PubMed. Please make sure to review the new fee schedule, as grant-funded work is now subject to an Article Processing Fee in case of acceptance.

Types of Articles

EVIDENCE

1. Research Articles. Papers describing research studies using qualitative, quantitative, experimental, survey, and innovative multi-methodological designs to rigorously test hypotheses about the prevalence and impact of participatory medicine and interventions to facilitate it. Our aim is to present well-designed studies that will provide empirical descriptions of:

We are particularly interested in evidence of the impact of participatory medicine on cost, quality, and outcomes. 5000 words or less.

Components:

Abstract

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion and conclusions

References

2. Reviews. Critical brief summaries of scientific advances, the state of the science, or subtopics within participatory medicine. Scientific reviews should use a literature review format and should make use of all available systematic reviews and research articles on the subject. Authors should identify the specific characteristics of participatory medicine being examined. 4000 words or less.

Components:

Abstract

Body Content

Conclusions

References

3. Case Studies. Structured accounts that illustrate experiences with participatory medicine, which may be told from the perspective of individuals (patients and professionals) or in the context of practice settings. Case studies describe an individual patient, episode of care, uncommon clinical case, a technological innovation in participatory medicine, or a new or improved method of management or treatment. 2500 words or less.

Components:

Abstract

Introduction

Case presentation

Discussion

Conclusions

References

PERSPECTIVES

4. Narratives. Essays that showcase patients and providers and demonstrate examples of participatory medicine in action. Narratives should clearly provide fresh insights into the meaning/implications of at least one of the defined characteristics of participatory medicine. 2500 words or less.

6. Letters to the Editors. Letters to the Editors of The Journal of Participatory Medicine should not exceed 150 words.

COLUMNS

7. Innovations in Participatory Medicine. This section aims to publish two types of essay in particular: Historical Essays, which describe the development of an innovation that advanced what we now consider participatory medicine, and Design Case Studies of early to mid-stage innovations that support participatory medicine, written by those on the front lines of participatory medicine, including researchers, patients, and entrepreneurs. 2500 words or less.

Questions for Authors (Historical Essays):

Describe a single or group of related technologies that either motivated or were the result of participatory medicine.

What problem was being addressed? What led to this innovation? What motivated its development?

What were the barriers to its realization? What were the technical, social, political, and/or logistical hurdles?

What was its impact? How was it received? How widely was it used?

What were the implications and ramifications of its use?

Where are we now? Is it in current use? What followed from this innovation?

Questions for Authors (Design Case Studies):

Describe the innovation.

What problem were you trying to solve? What motivated its development? What preceded it?

What were the barriers to its development? What technical, social, political, and/or logistical hurdles do you anticipate? Which have you crossed?

Outline either its future or current use. If it is still in development, describe how you intend for it to be used. If people are using it, describe either a single use case or pattern in usage.

Speculate about the possible impact of this innovation for participatory medicine. What do you think its contribution will be to the larger trend of increased patient participation?

MEDIA WATCH

8. Books & Literature. Brief commentaries on (and links to) recently published journal articles, news reports, and books. Reviews will generally describe why the reader interested in participatory medicine would be interested in the item in question: how the object of comment contributes to the JoPM mission of demonstrating and illustrating what participatory medicine is and its impact on health outcomes. 1000 words or less.

Components:

Complete citation and web address

Describes clearly how the object of comment contributes to the JoPM mission of demonstrating and illustrating what participatory medicine is and its impact on health outcomes

Author’s relationship (if any) to the principles or the site

9. On the Web. Brief commentary framing links to blog posts, websites, and tools that would be of interest to the reader. 250 words.

Components:

Title and address of site

Sponsorship

Purpose/focus

Intended audience

Type of information

Community or social networking capabilities

Descriptive information about principles including affiliation/discipline includes affiliation and discipline/perspective (eg, “a patient advocate”; “a researcher at the University of Utrecht”)

Why would someone interested in participatory medicine want to know about this?

Author’s relationship (if any) to the principles or the site

10. Conference Reports. Brief commentary on individual conference sessions that are relevant to the mission of JoPM. 1000 words.

Components:

Conference title

Sponsorship

Location, date

Intended audience

Descriptive information about speakers including affiliation and discipline/perspective (eg, “a patient advocate”; “a researcher at the University of Utrecht”)

Why would someone interested in participatory medicine want to know about this?

Author’s relationship (if any) to the sponsor or the conference itself

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors who do not adhere to these guidelines.

The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).

The submission file is in Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.

The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses). Do not use AutoFormatting, per the JoPM Style Guide.

All illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.

References follow JoPM house style or AMA style. For details and examples, see the JoPM Style Guide. Citations in text should be indicated with bracketed numbers corresponding to a numbered reference list. Do not use AutoFormat numbering in reference lists. Do not use EndNote or other reference-managing programs..

Identifying information is omitted for any patient or research participant mentioned in the submission, unless this information is essential for scientific purposes and the person or a guardian has given written informed consent. For more information, see the ICMJE Guidelines on informed consent.

Authors verify that research involving human participants followed procedures in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. For more information, see the ICMJE Guidelines on ethics in experimentation.

All authors have included a biographical statement, not exceeding 200 words per author. Acknowledgments are optional.

Review Process

The Journal of Participatory Medicine acknowledges all submissions upon receipt. The editors review all submissions for relevance to the Journal’s focus and scope (ie, the Parameters of Participatory Medicine) and for their contribution to the field. All articles are reviewed by at least one of the Co-Editors-in-Chief. Articles submitted to the Evidence, Perspective, and Innovations sections are further critiqued by at least two peer reviewers. Reviewers are encouraged, but not required, to disclose their identity to authors. Authors receive initial feedback (acceptance, revisions required, resubmit for review, or rejection) within four to six weeks of submission. All editorial decisions are made by the Co-Editors-in-Chief.

Become a Peer Reviewer

The editors depend on volunteer reviewers to help us maintain the JoPM’s high quality. And, as a journal that welcomes submissions from patients and caregivers as well as professionals, we welcome all stakeholders in health care as peer reviewers.

If you are interested in volunteering as a peer reviewer, please sign up here (chose “reviewer” as your role and enter “participatory medicine” and “jopm” as reviewer keywords).

Publication Frequency

The Journal of Participatory Medicine practices continuous publishing, meaning that content is published online as soon as it is ready for publication, and it is available free of charge. Content is organized into annual volumes (one per calendar year).

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.

b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (eg, post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.

c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (eg, in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

The following copyright notice will appear at the end of each article in JoPM: